Noida artist, 81, arrested for 'digital rape' of minor for 7 years

Noida: An 81-year-old artist-cum-teacher was arrested by the Noida police for 'digital rape' of a 17-year-old girl for seven years. The term 'digital rape' means forcibly inserting fingers or toes inside the private parts. The police said the accused, Maurice Ryder was arrested under Sections 376 (rape), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation). He was arrested by the Sector 39 police.

SHO of the Sector 39 station said the survivor lives with her guardian, who had been friends with the accused for over 20 years. The accused has been sent to police custody for 14 days.

Digital rape was considered to be molestation till 2013, when the new rape laws were passed in the parliament. The new laws were brought about following the brutal Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case in 2012. After a national outrage, laws were amended and any forced penetration was brought under the ambit of the anti-rape law. 

While its offenders are now booked under the much wider IPC section 376 (rape), the usage of the term "digital rape" and conviction in such cases still remains relatively low in the country.

With inputs from PTI